I am extremely disheartened as a Sox fan right now, and not just because I think we got fleeced (yet again) in the Durham trade. I am disheartened because I have no idea where this team is going right now. Maggs, PK and Buehrle are in their prime (well, Buehrle may actually get better) and I sure as hell can't take another 5 year rebuilding plan. But our once ballyhooed pitching prospects aren't living up to expectations and we don't have a lot of prime position players in the system. So how do you turn this solid core into contenders quickly? If you just stick with bringing up our minor leaguers next year and have a lineup of:

I think we win, at best 80 games. If we deal Valentin and/or Frank and/or C.Lee, the lineup is diluted further and we end up with (probably) Hummel and Borchard in the starting lineup as well. I hate to tell you that the Charlotte Knights aren't exactly tearing it up in AAA - I doubt they'd do much better as the 2003 Chicago White Sox. We'd be looking at another 2-3 years before the POSSIBILITY of contending.

So how do the Sox take the core they have now and make the moves necessary to become contenders sooner rather than later? Obviously, we need a smart GM to make it happen. And a pitching coach that can turn the promise of these young arms into actualy major league success. I simply have no hope, however, that we have or will get either of the above. I guess the one piece of advice I'd have is to not deal Frank, Valentin or C. Lee just to deal them. All of those guys are under contract for next year. Thus, there's no reason to dump them for the sake of dumping them. If we're going to deal any of those guys, I want real help, right now for them (preferably pitching). Then you just have to cross your fingers and hope Borchard/Crede/Harris/Hummel can play on the MLB level and can do it right away.

Jerry_Manuel

07-26-2002, 08:48 AM

Originally posted by hold2dibber
I hate to tell you that the Charlotte Knights aren't exactly tearing it up in AAA - I doubt they'd do much better as the 2003 Chicago White Sox. We'd be looking at another 2-3 years before the POSSIBILITY of contending.

It all depends on Minnesota.

They got lucky as all hell in 2000. That could happen again, but I wouldn't count on it.